Necessary wardrobe losses

Or so says a friend of mine who has worked in the fashion industry. She heard me lamenting on the impossibility of getting rid of my clothes - I have too many, my closets are overflowing. I have been trying to downsize for a year now to no avail. She offered her help, because obviously I cannot do it alone. She would come to my apartment and look into my closets and help me make decisions. I agreed with trepidation. Will she find out I have poor taste in clothes or that I’m a pack rat, holding on to outmoded things in the hope of losing a few pounds and having it fit again - that is, if it comes back in style? Will she tell me to give away those items I have not worn in years but love and may wear again sometime in the not-too-distant future?

I am embarrassed to admit that I am attached to my old clothes - even the ones I have not worn in ages; but there are memories attached, like that shirt bought on that small island in the Pacific or the dress I wore at a friend’s wedding.

The downsizing day came - I was surprisingly anxious. My friend took each piece of clothing out one-by-one, taking shoulder pads out, having me try on things that looked great when I was 5´4´´ and a size 8 and not my current 5´1´´ and size 14. I am shorter than I used to be, and plumper.

Advertisement

I have lost my waist somewhere, so anything belted is out. As pantyhose become more of a drag, short skirts and dresses are falling by the wayside unless they can be worn in the summer, bare-legged.

Having enough clothes to last me till the end of my life, we had to become creative. After the lifestyle change I made last year, I don’t need my business suits anymore. Instead, I need leisure clothes in my new retirement community by the beach.

The boring navy-blue suit that has always hung together got separated. The pants now have a striped navy shirt and white jacket, while the navy jacket went over a print skirt, which gave me two new outfits.

Coming from the East Coast, I still think of seasonal wardrobes - like browns only in winter, white and prints only in summer. Of course, here at White Sands, it’s a resort atmosphere all year long, and most people don’t pay attention to East-Coast directives.

Advertisement

I used to have red hair and never wore reds or pinks; my clothes palette was earth tones. Now, with white hair, all colors are possible - the brighter, the merrier.

As one grows older, skin becomes more sensitive, so itchy sweaters are discarded. My friend insisted that I keep only the clothes I feel really comfortable in, the one’s that make me feel attractive - in other words, the ones I really love.

Well, we got rid of about a quarter of my clothes; it didn’t make much of a dent. My friend said it was only a first run-through. We haven’t looked yet at the formals I needed on cruise ships but will never wear again. She’s coming back in the fall to see what I have not worn in the summer. I’m already looking anxiously at what she will tell me to give away. I have not told her that I already retrieved a couple of things from the give-away pile. I am making a point of getting it quickly out of my apartment, so as not to be tempted to keep retrieving more.

If you can’t get rid of your clothes, get a friend to help you - it works.

Although those in attendance at the new Safe, Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative (SHNI) meeting Sept. 4 in the La Jolla Library were seeking local solutions to the homelessness they’ve observed in their neighborhoods, they were met instead with broader City- and County-wide resources that address the varied facets of this very complex issue.

Sitting at the Brick & Bell coffee shop in La Jolla Shores on Sept. 4 with local residents Sandra Munson and Tim Johnson as they catch up over iced teas, one would never know that just three weeks prior, the two were undergoing surgery so Munson could donate a kidney to Johnson.